Steven Weinberg

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Steven Weinberg (2010)

Steven Weinberg (born May 3, 1933 in New York City , † July 23, 2021 in Austin , Texas ) was an American physicist .

Weinberg was one of the founders of the union of the electromagnetic and the weak interaction to form the electroweak interaction in the standard model of particle physics . He was also known for his contributions to astroparticle physics and cosmology . In addition, Weinberg was the author of a number of popular scientific texts, including the bestseller The First Three Minutes .

In 1979 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics .

Life

Weinberg graduated from the Bronx High School of Science in New York in 1950 and studied at Cornell University , where he received a bachelor's degree in 1954 , followed by a year at the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen with Gunnar Källén . He received his doctorate in 1957 from Princeton University under Sam Treiman with a thesis on the application of renormalization theory to effects of strong interaction in processes of weak interaction (title of the dissertation : The Role of Strong Interactions in Decay Processes ). He then went to Columbia University , from 1959 to 1966 to the University of California, Berkeley and from 1966 to 1969 to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University . In 1969 he became a professor at MIT and in 1973, succeeding Julian Schwinger at Harvard University, where he was also a senior scientist at the Smithsonian Observatory.

From 1982 he was professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Texas at Austin .

Steven Weinberg made outstanding contributions in the fields of particle physics , quantum field theory, and cosmology . During the 1960s, for example, he dealt with the quantum field theory of massless particles, the mechanisms of spontaneous symmetry breaking (a topic to which he came back again and again later), current algebras , chiral symmetry in strong interaction and light front formalism . Around 1969 he formulated his SU (2) theory of the union of the electromagnetic and weak interaction, for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1979. Here the Weinberg angle for the mixture of photon and Z boson is named after him. In the 1970s and 1980s, he dealt with the further development of these theories into Grand Unified Theories (GUT, Grand Unified Theories), quantum chromodynamics and gauge theories . Among other things, he introduced the Axion independently of Frank Wilczek .

As early as the 1960s, when he was writing his textbook on gravitation , he dealt with astrophysical questions. He was one of the pioneers in the border area between particle physics and cosmology. Weinberg became popular with his bestseller The First Three Minutes on the Development of the Universe after the Big Bang . His review article on the problem of the cosmological constant is also known .

In addition to his scientific work, he has also dealt with philosophical questions such as the reductionist method in the natural sciences or the conflict between scientific research and religion. Weinberg also openly emerged as an atheist and saw a danger in religious thinking. Weinberg was a well-known public figure in science in the United States; For example, he wrote for the New York Review of Books and announced before Congress for the failed Superconducting Super Collider (SSC) project that was to be built in his adopted home of Texas . Weinberg was also a member of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal .

From 1954 he was married to law professor Louise Weinberg, with whom he has a daughter.

Weinberg died in July 2021 at the age of 88.

Prizes and awards

In 1977 he received the Dannie Heineman Prize and the Science Writing Award of the American Institute of Physics for his book The First Three Minutes . In 1979, Steven Weinberg, along with Abdus Salam and Sheldon Glashow, received the Nobel Prize in Physics for his contribution to the theory of the union of weak and electromagnetic interactions between elementary particles , including the prediction of the Z boson and the weak neutral current (see electroweak interaction ). In 1999 he was the first to receive the Emperor Has No Clothes Award from the Freedom From Religion Foundation . In 2004 he received the Benjamin Franklin Medal from the American Philosophical Society. For 2020 he was awarded the Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics .

He was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (since 1968), the National Academy of Sciences (since 1972) and the Royal Society of Great Britain (since 1981) and the American Philosophical Society (since 1982). In 2007 he was elected an honorary member of the Royal Irish Academy . Weinberg has received honorary doctorates from a total of sixteen universities around the world .

The asteroid (6036) vineyard was named after him.

Quotes

  • “I think that enormous damage has been done by religion - not just in the name of religion, but actually by religion.” (I think enormous harm is done by religion - not just in the name of religion, but actually by religion .) - The Atheism Tapes
  • “ The reason that elementary particle physics appears to be more fundamental than other branches of physics in our eyes is that it is actually more fundamental.” (Original English: The reason we give the impression that we think that elementary particle physics is more fundamental than other branches of physics . Because it is is See S. Weinberg. Dreams of a final theory Vintage, 1993. p.43 . )
  • “One of the greatest advances in science is not making it impossible for intelligent people to be religious , but at least enabling them not to be religious. We shouldn't fall behind. ”(Original English: One of the great achievements of science has been, if not to make it impossible for intelligent people to be religious, then at least to make it possible for them not to be religious. We should not retreat from this accomplishment. Lecture at the conference "Cosmic Questions", American Association for the Advancement of Science, Washington, DC, April 15, 1999) Reprinted in Paul Kurtz (Ed.): Science and Religion, Prometheus Books 2003, P. 40 as Steven Weinberg: "A Designer Universe". First published in New York Review of Books, October 21, 1999, reprinted in The Skeptical Inquirer, Volume 25, No. 5, September / October 2001.
  • “With or without religion, good people would do good and bad people would do bad. But for good people to do evil, religion is required. ” (With or without religion good people can behave well and bad people can do evil. But for good people to do evil - that takes religion.) Weinberg in a speech at the conference American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) “Cosmic Questions” in the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC on April 15, 1999, reprinted in Paul Kurtz (Ed.): Science and Religion, Prometheus Books, p. 40 .

Fonts (selection)

Scientific work

Monographs

  • Gravitation and Cosmology: Principles and Applications of the General Theory of Relativity . Wiley, New York 1972, ISBN 0471925675 .
  • The Quantum Theory of Fields (3 volumes: I. Foundations 1995, II. Modern Applications 1996, III. Supersymmetry 2000). Cambridge University Press 1995, 1996, 2000, ISBN 0521670535 , ISBN 0521670543 , ISBN 0521660009 .
  • Cosmology . Oxford University Press, Oxford 2008, ISBN 0198526822 .
  • Lectures on Quantum Mechanics . Cambridge University Press 2013.

Essays

  • A Model of Leptons . In: Physical Review Letters . Tape. 19, 1967, pp. 1264-1266.
  • with Howard Georgi, Helen R. Quinn: Hierarchy in Interactions of Unified Gauge Theories . In: Physical Review Letters . Volume 33, 1974, pp. 451-454.
  • with Sheldon L. Glass Show: Natural Conservation Laws for Neutral Currents . In: Phys. Rev. D . 15, 1977, p. 1958.
  • Cosmological production of baryons . In: Physical Review Letters . Volume 42, 1979, p. 850.
  • The Cosmological Constant Problem . In: Rev. Mod. Phys. Volume 61, 1989, pp. 1-23.

Popular scientific texts

  • Unified theories of elementary particle interaction . Scientific American, Volume 231, Issue 1, 1974, pp. 50-59.
  • The First Three Minutes ( The First Three Minutes: A Modern View of the Origin of the Universe , 1977, revised 1993). Piper, Munich 1977, ISBN 3-492-22478-4 .
  • Parts of the Indivisible - Discoveries in the Atom ( The Discovery of Subatomic Particles , 1983). Spektrum Verlag, 1984.
  • Elementary Particles and the laws of physics . Dirac memorial lectures. Cambridge University Press, 1986.
  • The dream of the unity of the universe ( Dreams of a Final Theory , Vintage Books, 1993). Bertelsmann, Munich 1993, ISBN 3-570-02128-9 .
  • Facing Up: Science and Its Cultural Adversaries . Harvard University Press, 2003, ISBN 0674011201 .
  • Glory and Terror: The Coming Nuclear Danger . New York Review of Books Inc., 2004.
  • A short history of science . Phoenix, London 2005, ISBN 1842127152 .
  • Lake Views. This world and the universe . Harvard UP, 2010.
  • To Explain the World: The Discovery of Modern Science . Allen Lane (Penguin Books Ltd), London 2015. ISBN 0241196620 . Harper, New York 2015.

documentary

Weinberg also appears in the documentary series The Atheism Tapes (2004) by Jonathan Miller . The Atheism Tapes contains interviews with six important personalities from the fields of philosophy and science. Weinberg expresses himself in a half-hour interview on the subject of religion and atheism.

Web links

Commons : Steven Weinberg  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
Wikiquote: Steven Weinberg  - Quotes

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Steven Weinberg, Groundbreaking Nobelist in Physics, Dies at 88. In: nytimes.com. July 25, 2021, accessed July 26, 2021 .
  2. ↑ Stefan Klein : About God and the World. In: Zeit Online. April 2, 2009, accessed July 25, 2021 .
  3. ^ UT Austin Mourn's Death of World-Renowned Physicist Steven Weinberg. In: utexas.edu. The University of Texas at Austin, July 24, 2021; accessed July 25, 2021 .
  4. ↑ $ 3 million Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics awarded to Steven Weinberg. In: breakthroughprize.org. September 10, 2020, accessed on July 25, 2021 .
  5. ↑ Members: Steven Weinberg. Royal Irish Academy, accessed July 25, 2021 .
  6. ^ A b Conferences & Forums: Cosmic Questions April 14-16, 1999. AAAS, archived from the original on June 24, 2013 ; accessed on February 6, 2013 (conference program).
personal data
SURNAME Weinberg, Steven
SHORT DESCRIPTION American physicist
BIRTH DATE May 3, 1933
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City , New York , United States of America
DATE OF DEATH July 23, 2021
PLACE OF DEATH Austin , Texas